Edmund tones



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

E. TONKS.

00m) HOLDER FOR HOLDING THE corms OF BLINDS, &0. No. 385,829. Patented July 10, 1888.

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N. PETERs Phmohkhc n mr, Waxhinglam D.fl

(No Model.) 2 Shets-Sh'eet 2.

E. TONKS.

CORD HOLDER FOR HOLDING THE GORDS 0F BLINDS, &c. No. 885,829. Patented July 10, 1888.

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N, PETERS PhM Li|hogrnphen wnshin wn. n. C.

EDMUND TONKS, OF BIRMINGHAM, COUNTY OF WARWICK, ENGLAND.

CORD=HOLDER FOR HOLDING THE CORDS OF BLINDS, 80C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 385,829, dated July 10, 1888. Application filed January 11 1887. Serial No. 221,087. (No model.) Patented in England September ,2, 1886, No. 11.182.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDMUND ToNKs, of Birmingham, in the countyof \VarwickJCngland, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented a new or Improved Cord-Holder for Holding the Cords of Blinds and forother Like Purposes, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent in Great Britain, No. 11,182,dated September 2, 1888,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of a cord-holdcr made in the manner hereinafter described, and preferably ofshcet metal, although it may be made by casting.

I will describe my invention as made of sheetbrass.

I take a strip of strong sheet-brass and bend it so as to form a bow at its middle, the two ends remaining in the same plane. I do not limit myself to any particular shape of the bow part, as its shape may be varied. In that part of the bow which when the holder is fixed for use is uppermost a hole is made, which hole is of a size suitable to permit the cord to pass freely through it. At the opposite or lower side of the bow a taper slot is made, the said slot at its large end permitting the cord to pass through it freely, its other end being of a width much less than the diameter of the cord. The slot may either taper from front to back or from back to front. In explaining the ztClilOlLOf the holder I will suppose the slot to taper from front to back. The holder is fixed to the window-frame or in other required situation by screws passed through holes in its ends. The cord is passed through the hole in the upper part of the bow, and also through the tapering slot. IVhen the part of the cord below the holder is vertical, it is engaged in the tapering slot and is incapable of motion; but when the said part of the cord is drawn forward into a nearly-horizontal position it is drawn out of the narrow part of the tapering slot into the larger end in which it can slide freely. The cord can now be drawn down or be paid out and fixed in its new position by being depressed. As it approaches a vertical position it again engages in the narrow end of the tapering slot and becomes fixed. \Vhere the narrow end of the tapering slot is in front, the cord is liberated by being de= pressed into a vertical position and fixed by being drawn forward.

I will now proceed to describe, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the manner in which my invention is to be performed.

Figu rel represents in perspective, Fig. 2 in front elevation and plan of upper side, Fig. 3 in side elevation, Fig. 4 in back elevation, a part being removed, and Fig. 5 in vertical section, a holder for a single cord made from sheet metal according to my invention. Fig. 6 represents the sheet-metal strip or blank from which the single-cord holder is made.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In making the singlecord holder I cut out at a press or stamp the sheet-metal strip or blank, Fig. 6, and pierce and fashion it in the manner represented-that is to say, in the said blank a tapering slot, at, and a circular hole, [1, are made, and between the slot a and hole 0 a semicircular groove, 0, for guiding the cordis formed. The ends of the strip are pierced with holes and the holes countersunk for re ceiving the heads of the fixing-screws. I take the strip or blank, Fig. 6, and bend it at its middle, so as to form a bow, d, the two ends 6 e of the blank remaining in the same plane. The bow part (Z terminates at top in a shouldcr, (1 at right angles to the top of the bow. In the shoulder d the hole Z) is situated, which hole I) is at the top of the semicircular groove 0 in the bow. Through the said hole b the blind or other cord f is passed, as shown in the drawings, and when the part of the cord below the holder is raised for releasing the cord the said cord occupies the groove 0, as seen in Fig. 5. By the bending of the middle of the blank into a bow the greater part of the tapering slot a is situated in the inner or back part of the said bow, the wide end of the said tapering slot a being situated in the front part of the bow. The blind (or other) cordf, after 9 being passed through the top hole, 7), passes through the tapering slot a. It will be seen, by an examination of the blank, Fig. 6, and the finished holder, Figs. 2 and 4, that the wide end of the tapering slot (4 is of such a size that ICO it permits the cord to pass through it freely, but the back end is so narrow that the cord when passed into it is wedged tightly therein.

In using the holder it is fixed in a vertical position to the window-frame (or elsewhere) by screws passed through the holes in the fixing-plates e e at top and bottom of the holder, and the blind (or other) cord f is passed through the hole I) in the top part, d, of the bow, and also through the tapering slot a in the back fold of the bow. When that part of the cord fbelow the holder is vertical, as represented in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, it is engaged in the narrow part of the tapering slot at and the said cord is incapable of motion; but when the said cord is drawn forward into a nearlyhorizontal position, as represented in Fig. 5, it is drawn out of the narrow part of the tapering slot a into the wide front end, in which end the cord can slide freely. When in the position Fig. 5, the released cord can be drawn down or paid out, and by depressing thelower part of the cord into a vertical position it engages in the narrow part of the tapering slot 0 and becomes fixed, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4.

Instead of making the slot at taper from front to back, as represented in the drawings, it may taper from back to front-that is, its narrow end may be situated at the front of the bow d and its wide end in the back part or fold of the bow. Vhen the narrow end of the tapering slot is in front, as last described, the cord is liberated by depressing it into a vertical position, so as to occupy the wide end of the slot, and is fixed by being drawn forward so as to occupy the narrow front end. of the tapering slot.

The holder may be shortened and made more compact by bringing the ends of the bow near to each other and flattening the intermediate parts; but, as I have already remarked, the part which I have called the bow may be varied in shape without afiecting the action of the holder. Fig. 7 represents in front elevation and perspective a double-cord holder constructed according to my invention, and

Fig. 8 represents in front elevation and perspective a holder for three cords constructed according to my invention.

Although I prefer to make my improved cord-holder from sheet metal,as described and represented, yet it may be made by casting.

I am aware that a cord-holder for curtain fixtures has been composed of a curved brace having a tapering slot, and that in another instance a cordholder has been composed of a chambered plate containing a roller andprovided in its face part with a perforation and a tapering slot, the cord being passed through the perforation, around the roller, and out through the tapering slot. Such constructions are therefore disclaimed, as they differ from my invention in that I bend a piece of metal into bow shape, having its upper side formed with a semicircular smooth cord guiding and supporting groove and its lower side formed with a tapering slot in such manner that when the cord is moved from the narrow part of the slot to adjust the curtain said cord rests in the curved circular groove in the top part of the bow, and is thereby smoothly guided and supported in its movement without danger of abrading contact with the edges of the tapering slot, thus avoiding cutting the cord by the edges of the tapering slot in sliding the cord.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I declare that what- I claim is- A cord-holder for blinds and other purposes, consisting of a strip of metal bent to form a shoulder, d, and a projecting bow, d, having its upper side formed with a semicircular guiding-groove, c, and its lower portion formed with a tapering slot, the said shoulder having the orifice b, so that the cord can pass straight through the holder, substantially as described.

EDMUND TONKS. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

GEORGE SHAW,

RICHARD SKERRETT. 

